Geocaching for a Cause: From Germany to London

German geocachers travel to the UK for 12 hours of caching with locals

A group of German geocachers packed more than their GPS devices on a recent geocaching adventure to the UK. They also packed good intentions. Their epic international caching trip doubled as a fundraiser.

At the end of January, 80 geocachers made ​​their way from Düsseldorf and Aachen, Germany to London, UK to spend an entire weekend treasure hunting with geocachers from several different countries.

The event, “London 2012″ (GC38HZA), took place at the Joy of Life Fountain. The German cachers met an international group of geocachers at the event. Adventurers from Norway, France, U.S., and of course the UK joined to embark on a 12-hour treasure hunt. The teams found 64 caches. The favorite cache for many was “London – Beatles Abbey Road” (GC6F12). Geocachers got to transform into a “Beatle” for the cache. Others visited platform 9 3/4 from the Harry Potter movies.

The trip there and back across the English channel was about more than the event; it was also a chance to help others.

German geocachers make their way from from Düsseldorf to London

Janina Hering aka Döskopp says, “We thought about how to best utilize our time on the bus.” So, with some planning and the help of German geocaching shops and other businesses, Janina and her team collected prizes for a raffle that would take place on the bus drive back to Germany. The raffle money went to an organization for sexually abused children.

“We knew we wanted to support this organization. Their work is absolutely admirable,” she explained.

Janina was in charge of the collection of prizes, such as Geocoins and gummy bears. The team was busily selling raffle tickets and ended up raising more than 500 Euros for the association.

“Such private, dedicated fundraisers are unfortunately rare,” says an excited Board Operator, Monika Schiffer. “The great thing about this initiative is that their hobby connected them to such a great gesture.”

Congrats to Janina and her fellow geocachers on a successful, well planned event. To find a geocaching event near you check out the Geocaching.com Events Calendar.